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Car Forum / BMW Cars / February 2008730, M30 E32 1992 heater - water leak
730, M30 E32 1992 heater - water leak Hi Looking for advice. I have a water leak into the car from the heater. It can have only started a couple of months ago when I topped up the coolant. A thing i do not normally have to do. I now have noticed damp under both from mats, worse on the passenger side and the vent to the rear seats when opened water can be heard and I have drawn some off today with a tube and it is coolant. I am not really a DIY car mechanic [but do have a haynes manual] the car is 1992 and does not warrant going into a garage which is 80 miles away. I feel that the heater radiator has sprung a small leak and over time has collected in the area. I am wondering if a radiator leak sealer would stop it - would there be any harm in trying. I only do about 1000 miles per year and only local. Would this be easy to check by taking out the glove box? Any advice would be appreciated. Even if this is a short fix - that would be ok - i could clean the carpets etc. Over 2 months the water level has dropped by about 1.5" down the filler but not brought up an alarm. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks > 730, M30 E32 1992 heater - water leak > I now have noticed damp under both from mats, worse on the passenger side > and the vent to the rear seats when opened water can be heard and I have > drawn some off today with a tube and it is coolant. I am not really a DIY > car mechanic [but do have a haynes manual] the car is 1992 and does not > warrant going into a garage which is 80 miles away. Replacing the heater core in 5-series of this vintage is a difficult and lengthy task. I suspect that it's similar in a 7-series. Additionally, if you have the two-temperature-zone system, there are two radiators to replace. > I feel that the heater radiator has sprung a small leak and over time has > collected in the area. I am wondering if a radiator leak sealer would stop > it - would there be any harm in trying. I only do about 1000 miles per > year > and only local. Would this be easy to check by taking out the glove box? The sealer is not recommended. It might work, it might gum up the heater control valve (or other valves), it might not work. And it might ruin the corrosion-protection values of the coolant. FloydR >> 730, M30 E32 1992 heater - water leak >> I now have noticed damp under both from mats, worse on the passenger side [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > FloydR I think the car has reached almost the end of it's life for me. It has to go and if this will quick fix - I think i would be happy. I will have to think - this leakage into the car has to stop. Thanks for your reply. If you can live without the heater, just bypass the heater all together. Its a *hell* of a job to change. > If you can live without the heater, just bypass the heater all together. > Its a *hell* of a job to change. MM what a suggestion? Any idea of the best way to do this? I see from the handbook there are 3 hoses? Would you think this is a better solution that the radiator hole cure liquid? Thanks for the reply >> If you can live without the heater, just bypass the heater all together. >> Its a *hell* of a job to change. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >I see from the handbook there are 3 hoses? There should be a line going through the firewall into the heater, and one coming out of the heater. Connect them together. >Would you think this is a better solution that the radiator hole cure >liquid? If you live in Florida, but not if you live in Saskatchewan. --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." >>> If you can live without the heater, just bypass the heater all together. >>> Its a *hell* of a job to change. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > If you live in Florida, but not if you live in Saskatchewan. > --scott Thanks - I will look tomorrow. Kind Regards >I feel that the heater radiator has sprung a small leak and over time has >collected in the area. I am wondering if a radiator leak sealer would stop >it - would there be any harm in trying. I only do about 1000 miles per year >and only local. Would this be easy to check by taking out the glove box? This is precisely what has happened... and taking out the glove box is probably not enough. I have not done an E32, but the 5-series cars of that era are a horrible nightmare to get the dashboard apart on. >Any advice would be appreciated. Even if this is a short fix - that would be >ok - i could clean the carpets etc. Over 2 months the water level has >dropped by about 1.5" down the filler but not brought up an alarm. You can TRY the Bar's Leaks brand sealer.... what you want is the kind with the grey plastic pebbles, not the other sort. There is a chance that it will temporarily fix the problem. There is also a chance that it will clog up your water pump too. For the most part, the modern plastic sealers are a lot less apt to do damage than the older kapok, but they still are not completely harmless. >Any advice would be appreciated. Find a local mechanic that you trust, who has a lot of time. This is not a job that requires sophisticated techniques and troubleshooting skills, but it's a job that requires a whole lot of work to get the thing apart and back together. You want a blacksmith grade mechanic, not an expert diagnostician. The glop in the system might fix it, but if you intend on driving this thing forever (and you should be able to do that), you really want to repair it right. Even though it's a hell of a lot of time involved. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." >>I feel that the heater radiator has sprung a small leak and over time has >>collected in the area. I am wondering if a radiator leak sealer would stop [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > want to repair it right. Even though it's a hell of a lot of time > involved. --scott Hi Scott, No I have decided to get rid of this car as my step son, who used to repair the BMW's [3 2*530 and one 730] has moved on. The stuff I have purchased is called carlube. it says it repairs leaking radiators fast and stays active to seal future leaks. It will not harm hoses or gaskets. It's made by Tetrosyl ltd. Bury, Lancs.UK This car has given me 6 years of trouble free motoring, except for brake pipes and an exhaust. It's done 130,000 miles but is getting clobbered with high petrol costs and road car tax. Thanks |
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